JPH11341188A - Terminal network control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable calling at a time inform a plurality of phenomena by discriminating whether or not the plurality of calling phenomena data are stored and performing communication the plurality of calling phenomena data by the calling at a time when it is discriminated that they are stored. SOLUTION: With regard to a processing when a T-NCU calls, if a main control device 25 collects data, the main control device 25 stores the data in a buffer inside an RAM 45. When the T-NCU receives a telegraphic message, it checks if there are the data in the buffer. If there are no data, a buffer completion telegraphic message is transmitted to a C-NCU. Receiving this, the C-NCU transmits a completion telegraphic message to the T-NCU. The T-NCU returns a response, clears the data of the buffer in the RAM 45, and completes its operation. Thus, the T-NCU can inform plural phenomena by the calling at a time even if there are succeeding calling phenomena data transmitted after communication starts and can shorten a time for communication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is connected to a center device using a telephone line, performs no ringing communication with the center device, and automatically measures meters such as LP gas, city gas, electricity and water. For the purpose of meter reading,
Further, the present invention relates to a terminal network control device for detecting a state of a make sensor terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional terminal network controller (hereinafter referred to as T-NC)
As shown in FIG. 8, a no-ringing communication system to which U is applied is a host device 1 and a center network controller (hereinafter, referred to as C-NCU) in a center device.
2 are connected to each other, and T
A meter 7, a sensor 8, and a home telephone 9 in the NCU 6;
Are connected respectively. The center-side device and the terminal-side device are connected via a telephone line. This telephone line network is configured by being connected via a telephone line 11 to a center-side exchange 3 and a terminal-side exchange 4 having a no-ringing trunk 5.

[0003] In such a configuration, data transmission is performed between the center-side device and the terminal-side device by no-ringing communication, and automatic meter reading of the meter 7 for gas, electricity, water, etc. from the host device 1 or terminal transmission is performed. An alert (eg, gas leak) from the sensor 8 of the security device is notified by a call.

[0004] In other words, the terminal call is a function in the T-NCU to dial the center device and communicate with the center device in response to activation from the meter and a change in the state of the make sensor.

[0005] At this time, the T-NCU dials and notifies the center-side device every occurrence event. Also, during no-ringing communication, the T-NCU 6 performs communication without disconnecting the home telephone 9 from the telephone line 11 by detecting the off-hook of the home telephone 9 by the no ringing trunk 5. On the other hand, for terminal calls,
Normally, the home telephone 9 is disconnected from the telephone line 11 to prevent the bell of the home telephone 9 from resonating.

The control contents of the T-NCU 6 at this time will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

When the T-NCU originates a call, the main controller 25 collects security data through the interface circuits 29 and 30 (step T1) and collects meter readings from the meter (step T2). Then, main controller 25 stores the data in buffer 1 in RAM 45 (step T3). Next, main controller 25 sets P
Dial C-NCU 2 via B transmission / reception circuit 24 (step T4). After the communication with the center device is started, the data of the buffer 1 is transmitted to the C-NCU 2 (step T7). Next, the end message “A” is sent from C-NCU2.
Is received (step T8), the T-NCU
Forty-five buffers 1 are cleared (step T9).

In the above process, when dialing, when the home telephone 9 is on-hook (step T5), a call cannot be made to the terminal, so that a retry is performed so that the dial operation is performed again after a predetermined time (step T6). Further, after the communication with the center-side device is started, after transmitting the data in the buffer 1 to the C-NCU 2 (step T5), the C-NC
If the termination message "A" is not received from U2, the buffer 1 cannot be cleared, so that a retry is performed so that the dial operation is performed again after a predetermined time (step T6).

However, during the retry process, the T-NC
When the main controller 25 collects security data at the same port of U6 (step T10) or collects meter readings of the meter (step T11), the main controller 25
Stores the data in the buffer 2 in the RAM 45 (step T12). Then, main controller 25 temporarily stops the retry process and starts a process of transmitting data of buffer 2 which is a subsequent event.

After the data transmission processing of the buffer 2 is completed, the processing of transmitting the buffer 1, which is the first event, is started again.

[0011]

In the terminal network control device (T-NCU), while dialing the center device,
When an event from the same port occurs, the current call is interrupted, the subsequent event is processed, the subsequent event is dialed, the call is made to the center device, and then the first event is dialed to the center device. And was informed.

[0012] When two events are overlapped in this way, there is an inconvenience that the telephone charge is doubled and the time is doubled because dialing is performed twice. Furthermore, the first event may have once communicated with the center device, and the center device record may have resulted in two calls.

[0013] In addition, when the state of the make sensor changes, a similar problem occurs when dialing the center-side device and making a call.

An object of the present invention is to notify a plurality of events by a single call.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A terminal network controller (T-NCU) according to the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and is connected to a center-side device by using a telephone line to read a meter. In a terminal network control device that performs no-ringing communication with the center-side device based on data stored in the storage unit, based on data stored in the storage unit, a call event occurs when performing no-ringing communication from the terminal network control device. Storage means for storing data in a storage unit, information discriminating means for discriminating whether or not a plurality of call event data are stored in the storage unit; and a plurality of call event data stored by the information discriminating means. Control means for communicating a plurality of pieces of call event data in one call when it is determined that the call origination requires a response from the terminal network control device. Comprises means for transmitting the read request message elephant data, the terminal network controller is characterized in that it comprises a means responsive to decoded center side apparatus the command message.

According to the above arrangement, the terminal network control device comprises:
Even if there is subsequent call event data generated after the start of communication with the center device, a plurality of events can be notified by a single call, and the communication charge and communication time can be reduced.

Further, when the state of the make sensor changes, an unreported mark is added to the new data and stored.
When there are a plurality of call events due to the same call cause, all past events can be reported at once.

When there are a plurality of outgoing call events, whether the event has been reported or not achieved can be easily determined by judging the mark data, so that the data management is made more efficient.

Furthermore, since it is possible to determine whether or not the data has been received in the center device in the past by decoding the transmission counter, even if there is data communication that could not be normally terminated, the data is stored in the center device. A calling event can be specified from the past data that has been input, and processing can be performed efficiently.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a terminal network control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

<First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

The system configuration to which the T-NCU 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied is basically the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 8 described in the section of "Prior Art". for that reason,
In the following description, FIG. 8 will be referred to again as necessary.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the T-NCU 6 shown in FIG. 8. The T-NCU 6 comprises a pole detection circuit 21 for detecting a pole signal, a rectifier circuit 22, and an off-hook control circuit 23. Transmission / reception circuit 24 for transmitting and receiving PB signals, main controller 2 having microcomputer
5, a connection switching circuit 26 for connecting / disconnecting the home telephone 9 to / from the telephone line 11, a modem 27, an off-hook detection circuit 28 for detecting the use state of the home telephone 9, a meter 7, and an interface with the sensor 8 of the security device. It comprises interface circuits 29 and 30, which are responsible for the control, a transmission circuit 31 composed of a crystal oscillator, etc., a reset circuit 32 for resetting the main controller 25 in an appropriate state, an EEPROM 33 as a storage unit, and a power supply circuit 34.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the main control device 25 shown in FIG. 1. The main control device 25 receives a signal from the CPU 41 and the oscillation circuit 31 which are a control center, and performs time measurement. The operation procedure of the 16-bit timer 42 and the 8-bit timer 43, the reset circuit 44, the RAM 45 for storing setting information set from the outside, and temporarily storing data generated in the main controller 25, and the CPU 41 are instructed. ROM4 for storing the saved program
6. A / D conversion port 47 for converting an analog value which is a meter value of gas or the like into a digital value, serial interface 48 to which modem 27 is connected, I / O port 4
9. A clock control 50 for switching the frequency value of the oscillation circuit 31 and a bus 51.

Next, the control contents of the T-NCU 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the T-NCU originates a call, the main controller 25 collects security data through the interface circuits 29 and 30 (step S1) and collects meter readings from the meter (step S2). Main controller 25 stores the data in buffer 1 in RAM 45 (step S3). Next, main controller 25 sets P
Dial C-NCU 2 via B transmission / reception circuit 24 (step S4). After the communication with the center device is started, the data of the buffer 1 is transmitted to the C-NCU 2 (step S5).

Next, the C-NCU 2 transmits a buffer read message “RD”. Upon receiving this message (step S6), the T-NCU checks whether there is data in the buffers 2 and 3 (step S7). If there is data, the data of the next buffer (buffer 2) is transmitted (step S8), and the buffer read message “RD” from the C-NCU 2 is received (step S6).
Return to Further, if the RD is received and there is data in the buffer 3, the data of the next buffer (buffer S3) is transmitted, and the process returns to step 6.

In step 7, if there is no data, C-N
A buffer end message "E" is transmitted to CU2 (step S9). In response, the C-NCU 2 sends an end message “A” to the T-NCU 6. The T-NCU 6 returns a response (step S10), clears the data in the buffers 1 to 3 of the RAM 45, and ends the operation.

In this embodiment, three buffers are provided, but two or five buffers can be used as long as the RAM permits.

<Second Embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the make sensor and the structure of the message format. If the state of the make sensor changes, the changed make sensor information is displayed.
The time is stored as ON / OFF information, and the time at that time is stored as an event occurrence time in the buffer of the RAM 45 as 1 byte and 12 bytes, respectively. Further, 1 as mark data
The byte indicates whether the C-NCU 2 has been notified once.

There are three buffers, which always hold three pieces of information. In communication with the C-NCU 2, all the buffers 1 to 3 are transmitted in one telegram. Because, the make sensor, the state change before and after,
Because it is important. In this embodiment, three buffers are provided, but two or five buffers can be used as long as the RAM permits.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the T-NCU 6 when the state of the make sensor changes. The main controller 25 stores the change in the state of the make sensor in the buffer 3. Clear the data,
The data in the buffer 2 is transferred to the buffer 3 and the data in the buffer 1 is transferred to the buffer 2 (step S11), and the new data is stored in the empty buffer 1 after the movement (step S12). An unreported mark "1" is added to the mark data of the new data (step S13).

Next, when a call is made by the make sensor, the main controller 25 sends the C-NCU via the PB transmission / reception circuit 24.
Dial 2 (step S14). After the communication with the center-side device is started, the data of the buffers 1 to 3 is transmitted to the C-NCU 2 in the message format shown in FIG. 5 (step S15). In response, C-NCU
2 sends an end message “A” to the T-NCU 6. T-NCU
6 returns a response (step S16), changes the unreported mark "1" of the mark data in the buffers 1 to 3 of the RAM 45 to the report completion mark "0" (step S17), and ends the operation.

A state change occurs again in the make sensor,
When the make sensor makes a call, the mark data in the buffers 2 and 3 is “0”, so the C-NCU 2
You can easily determine what the call was made for.

If there is no such data, it is assumed that the call has been made based only on the information in the buffer 1, and the data after the buffer 2 is treated as reference data. This does not mean that a plurality of data have been reported at once.

<Third Embodiment> A third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a message format to which a transmission counter is added. The buffer 1 in the RAM 45 stores security data and data obtained by collecting meter readings of a meter. Two bytes indicate the number of times the C-NCU 2 has been notified. In this embodiment, one buffer is provided, but two or five buffers can be used as long as the RAM permits.

FIG. 7 shows a TN with a transmission counter added.
10 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the CU 6. When the main controller 25 collects security data through the interface circuits 29 and 30 (step U1) and collects meter readings of the meter (step U2), the main controller 25 Stores the data in the buffer 1 in the RAM 45 (step U3). At this time, since the notification is sent to the center for the first time, the transmission counter composed of 2 bytes is reset to "00" (step U4).

Next, the main controller 25 sets the PB transmission / reception circuit 2
4 dials C-NCU 2 (step U
5). After the communication with the center device starts, C-NC
Transmit data in buffer 1 to U2 (step U
6). When transmission is completed, the transmission counter is incremented by 1 and "0"
1 "(step U7).

The transmission counter is provided for each buffer, and the contents of the buffer are incremented each time the data is transmitted to the center.

Next, the C-NCU 2 transmits a buffer read message “RD” or an end message “A”.

In this embodiment, since reading the contents of a plurality of buffers is not the main purpose of the description, an example of transmitting the end message "A" will be described below.

When the T-NCU 6 receives this message (step U8), the data in the buffer 1 is cleared. At this time, the contents of the transmission counter are also cleared at the same time (step U9).

However, before receiving the end message “A”,
When it is necessary to retry the T-NCU 6 due to a line disconnection or the like (step U10), the process must return to step U5.

According to the center-side device, it is possible to determine whether the received data is the same or different from the previously reported contents by looking at the transmission counter of the message.

[0047]

Since the terminal network control device of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, the invention according to claim 1 has late-calling event data generated after the start of communication with the center device. Also, a single call can notify a plurality of events, thereby reducing the communication fee and communication time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the state of the make sensor changes, an unreported mark is added to the new data and stored, so that when there are a plurality of call events due to the same call factor, All past events can be reported at once.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of call events, it is easy to determine whether the event has been reported or not achieved by judging the mark data, so that data management can be made more efficient. Is done.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the data has been received in the past by the center device by decoding the transmission counter.
Even if there is data communication that could not be terminated normally, a call event can be specified from the past data stored in the center-side device, and processing can be performed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a terminal network control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents of a T-NCU 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the T-NCU 6 when the state of the make sensor of the present invention changes.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure and a message format of the make sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a message format to which a transmission counter according to the present invention is added.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for adding a transmission counter according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a no-ringing communication system to which a conventional terminal network control device is applied.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing control contents of a conventional terminal network control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host apparatus 2 Center side network controller (C-NCU) 3 Center side switching center 4 Terminal side switching center 5 No ringing trunk 6 Terminal network controller (T-NCU) 7 Meter 8 Sensor 9 Home telephone 11 Telephone line 21 Extreme Detection circuit 22 Rectifier circuit 23 Off-hook control circuit 24 PB transmission / reception circuit 25 Main controller 26 Connection switching circuit 27 Modem 28 Off-hook detection circuit 29 Interface 30 Interface 31 Oscillator 32 Reset circuit 33 EEPROM 34 Power supply circuit 41 CPU 42 16-bit timer 43 8-bit timer 44 Reset circuit 45 RAM 46 ROM 47 A / D conversion port 48 Serial interface 49 I / O port 50 Clock control 51 Bus

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A telephone line is connected to a device on the center side to read a meter reading value of a meter and state information of a sensor.
A terminal network control device that performs no-ringing communication with the center-side device based on data stored in a storage unit. Means, information discriminating means for discriminating whether or not a plurality of call event data are stored in the storage unit, and when the information discriminating means determines that a plurality of call event data are stored, Control means for communicating a plurality of call event data in one call, wherein the center-side device transmits a call request data readout message for a call event data requiring a response from the terminal network control device. Terminal network control device, characterized in that the terminal network control device comprises means for decoding the command message and responding to the center-side device. 2. The control means according to claim 1, wherein when the state of the make sensor changes, the data in each of the plurality of storage locations is moved, new data is stored in the empty storage location after the movement, and a notification is issued. 2. The terminal network control device according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to add unachieved mark data. 3. The control means communicates a plurality of outgoing call event data with a center device, decodes a communication end message transmitted from the center device, and does not achieve notification of data in a plurality of storage locations. 3. The terminal network control device according to claim 2, wherein the control is performed so that the mark data is changed and added to the notified mark data. 4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to communicate with the center device and change transmission counter data of the data at the storage location when the call event data is transmitted. Means for decoding the end message and deleting transmission counter data of the data in the storage location together with the calling event data, the terminal network control device comprising:
2. The terminal network control device according to claim 1, wherein when one call cause has a history of communicating with the center a plurality of times, the number of communication history is added to the call event data.